Erised
by Aisling Yinyr Ngaio
Summary: Post HBP. ’He paused before continuing, with conviction in his tone, “I’m going to ask her to marry me.”’ Harry Potter visits his parents' grave after the defeat of Voldemort and reveals his deepest desire and plans for the love of his life.


**Erised**

A lone teenage boy was sitting in front of a single gravestone. The evening air was tugging at the eighteen-year-old's messy jet-black hair as he stared at the tomb that marked his parents' resting place. It was a double grave, the kind he knew his parents would have wanted any day, to be together even in death. On the tablet was the inscription, "James and Lily Potter. Died on 31st October 1981. Sadly missed by friends, comrades and beloved son. Rest In Peace."

Harry Potter looked on mutely. This was his second visit, but it won't be his last. His parents had sacrifice themselves so that he could live, live to fight for and save the world from the most terrifying Dark Lord of all times, Lord Voldemort. Without the Potters' selfless sacrifice for their son, there might be no hope, no future for the magical world. And he might not have survived to be here right now.

"Mum… Dad… _He _is destroyed. Voldemort. We've won. _You've_won," he said clearly into the air, willing the wind to carry his voice to his parents, wherever they were. He believed that they were never very far from him. Why else would he be able to escape narrowly five times from Voldemort? And here he was, the champion of the two, for Voldemort was vanquished by eternal love once and for all. Dumbledore once said that it was agony to touch something that was marked by something so good, which was his parents' love for him, when Voldemort was full of greed and hunger for power.

"They say that, when a person is about to die, their lives flash before their eyes. Do you know what was the last thing I thought of before I thought I was going to be killed?" he asked, a half-smile forming on his lips. The stone remained silent as ever, but he didn't mind. It was almost as if his parents were listening silently to him. "I thought of you, dad, and mum too, how you sacrificed yourself that day to save me and made me extraordinary by your act. I thought of Sirius, of how happy I was when I thought I could live with him after he was cleared. I thought of Dumbledore, and how he had guided me for six years, cared for me so much, and letting me prove myself again and again, though I've let him down sometimes," he was a little ashamed of the thought. "I thought of Ron and Hermione. They have journeyed with me to the ends of the earth, helping me numerous times, lifting me up when I was down, and always encouraging me to go on. And…" At this, a dreamy look overcame his face. "And Ginny. Dear, sweet Ginny. She always understood me perfectly, even better than Hermione who's so good in feelings and stuff. She understands me so perfectly that she even understood how I felt when I myself don't. She respects my decisions and let me go. She let me go, mum, she knew I had to do what I ought."

He smiled dreamily as he continued reminiscently, "So many flashes were in front of my eyes, in that one nanosecond before Voldemort's spell hit me. The first day of school, when I saw her on Platform Nine and Ten, during my journey to discover the mysterious location of the elusive Platform Nine and Three-Quarters. My first breakfast at the Burrow, when she appeared in her nightgown, squealed at the sight of me, and ran upstairs again. Seeing her lifeless body lying on the cold stone floor of the Chamber of Secrets, with Riddle's diary in her hand. Her bringing the Easter eggs into the library during fifth year, where she spoke to me about reconciling with Cho and how she planned to ask Fred and George to help me get to Umbridge's fireplace to speak to Sirius and Lupin. The way she managed to play Seeker when I was banned from the team, her beautiful red hair visible as she managed to catch the Snitch. And how we got to spend the last few weeks of sixth year, being together. Those were the happiest times of my life," his emerald eyes gazed off into the distance, with a look of longing in them. "Especially that first kiss… That was what set the whole thing going…"

He brought his eyes back to his parents' tombstone. He looked at it for a long time, then asked softly, "Do you know what I am going to do once I see her again?" He paused before continuing, with conviction in his tone, "I'm going to ask her to marry me."

He imagined his parents' look of surprise, which quickly changed into delightful expressions. "Yes, I'm going to ask Ginevra Molly Weasley, the love of my life, to marry me. I'm sure you would have liked her, mum, dad. I'm sure she would have liked you too."

He was again lost in his own thoughts. "We've lost so much time that we ought to have. I was such a fool for not noticing her when I ought. If I did, we would have had many happy days in our memories. Instead, we only have that last few divine weeks to cherish. Another thing which crossed my mind before that Killing Curse rebounded on me was how I would find it in my heart to forgive myself if I died without seeing her again, without telling her how I felt about her."

"How I wish you are both alive, you, and Sirius and Dumbledore too, alive to see me married to my one and only love. You would have been sitting at the front aisle in the wedding hall, in the seats of the parents of the groom. You would have been beaming and smiling at me, and laughing at me for being a nervous wreck as I fidget around, waiting impatiently for the ceremony to begin. There will be smiles and laughter all around us, for the darkness brought about by Voldemort would be gone, forever, as we continue to live our lives with hope and boundless love."

His eyes grew misty as he dreamt on. "I can see the double doors of the church opening slowly with a loud creak. Two figures with red hair are standing there, smiling like the rest. One is my beloved Ginny, looking so lovely in her pure white bridal gown, with a thin veil covering her face, though not covering her loveliness. The moment I see her, my nervousness will have been done away, confirmed, as I always am, by her mere presence, that this is where I belong right here and now, right beside her. I see her clutching the bridal bouquet in one hand, and her father's arm in the other. I see them walking down the aisle, towards me. Everybody is looking at us, with heads turning to whisper how fortunate a couple we are to have found each other, just like our parents before us. But my vision is hazy. I see not the rest of the congregation. I see only her. My enchanting bride, glowing with the joy and love of a woman, as she walk forward, arm in arm with Mr. Weasley, nearing me step by step, second by second."

"She is now in front of me in next to no time at all. Her father gives her in marriage. We exchanged our wedding vows, swearing to love and stand by each other forever, for better for worse. I look at Ginny as the Minister halted, and, smiling at her, I say, 'I do.' Ron, as my best man and brother-in-law, presents Ginny's ring to me, as her maid-of-honour does the same. 'With this ring, I thee wed,' I will say as I slip the wedding band on her fourth finger. She does the same, all the while smiling at me with pure joy, as I undoubtedly am doing at the same time. We barely hear the good Minister proclaiming us married as I lift her veil to kiss her for the first time as her husband and her partner for life. 'May I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Harry Potter' is then received by the crowd with a tumultuous applause as we walk down the aisle as man and wife. Ginevra Potter. Ginny Potter. How well it sounds. My beloved Ginny."

He turned back to his parents and said, "We would stop in front of you. Mum, you would have given her a hug to welcome her as the newest member of the Potter family, while dad and Sirius would have clapped me on the back and pour me with congratulations before anyone else did. And Professor Dumbledore would be there, with the familiar twinkle in his eyes. He taught me more than any other teacher did in Hogwarts, including McGonagall and Flitwick. He taught me about life, and he always believed that love is the greatest magic of all. He is right. I am the happiest man on earth, married to Ginny. I know that she will bring me untold happiness."

He looked at them straight and continued, "I love her. I know you loved mum just the same too. That's why you married straight out of Hogwarts, didn't you? Because you knew that if you love one another, nothing else matters except being with each other. You let nothing stand in your way, not even Voldemort. I wasn't so strong. I let Voldemort come between us. I should have known that we are able to stand together, to fight him together. But I wasn't strong. I didn't want her to get hurt. I left her. And that is the greatest mistake and regret of my life."

He lowered his head regretfully as he thought about the times they could have had. And a new determination filled him, a determination that was quite different with the one he had while fighting Voldemort, yet it was of the same intensity. It was desire, desire to regain what he had lost. Although he realised he could never replay the times he lost with Ginny, he knew that he could seize the day, _today_, if he made that first move. With this renewed strength he said, "But I won't waste any more time not being with her. I shall get her, and I shall do it now. When I next visit you," he continued with a foolish grin as he thought of it, "I hope to come to you as the husband of Ginny, and I'll bring her to visit you, as I have done last year and today."

He rose to the ground. "I shall never forget you, even when I have my own family. Our little Potters will grow up knowing what a great deed their grandparents did for the good of the family and the magical world. I love you, mum and dad, never forget. But I shall move on and find my own future, now that the greatest burden has been shed. I feel like a new man. Not the Boy Who Lived. Not the Chosen One. I am Harry Potter, beloved son, godson, student, best friend, and soon-to-be husband."

As he turned to leave the grave, he smiled, "We do have a thing for redheads, don't we, dad? We Potter men like feisty and intellectual women. I bet mum was like Ginny too. Smart. Talented. Loving. Funny. Determined. And most importantly, she is always herself, isn't she, dad? No wonder you fell in love with her. Like I did with Ginny. Wish me luck dad, mum. Till next time, then."

The setting sun glowed a healthy red as the young adult turned on his back and strode towards the exit, where the ruins of a house could still be seen after seventeen long years. Harry Potter rejoined his two best friends, who were seen waiting patiently for him while he said a few words to his parents. Together, they turned gracefully on the spot and stepped forward into the darkness that Apparition brought. In a moment, they reached the Burrow, home of the Weasleys, and the place where Harry's final destiny and happiness laid with the seventh child and only daughter of Arthur Weasley.

– _Finis –_


End file.
